Lamb Shanks in Five Spice, Tamarind & Ginger

This is adapted from Pamela Clark's Low Carb - Low Fat Cookbook. If this is diet food, please give me more. I served this with some steamed choy sum.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 20 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2  teaspoons five-spice powder
• 1  teaspoon  dried chili pepper flakes
• 1  cinnamon stick
• 2  star anise
• 1⁄4 cup soy sauce (60ml)
• 1⁄2 cup rice wine (125ml) or 1⁄2 cup dry sherry (125ml)
• 2  tablespoons tamarind paste
• 2  tablespoons  grated palm sugar or 2  tablespoons brown sugar
• 40  g  grated ginger (8cm piece)
• 3  garlic cloves, chopped
• 1  red onion, finely diced
• 1 1⁄4 cups water
• 8  french trimmed lamb shanks (about 1.6kg)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to moderate.
2. Dry fry, five spice, chili, cinnamon and star anise in a small saucepan until fragrant.
3. Then add soy sauce, wine, tamarind, sugar, ginger, garlic, onion and water and mix well.
4. Place lamb in a single layer in a large shallow baking dish and drizzle over the sauce mixture from the saucepan.
5. Bake covered in a moderate oven, turning the lamb occasionally for about 2 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone.
6. Remove lamb from the dish and keep warm while you skim any excess fat.
7. Strain the sauce into a small saucepan and boil for about 2 minutes. Put lamb onto serving plates and pour sauce over and serve with green steam vegetable.
8. If you are not on a diet serve with rice or mash potato.
9. This could also be made in a large dutch oven on top of the stove.